Rooftop Solar Is a Solution, Not the Problem

The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) released a new video exposing what’s really driving up electricity bills in California — uncontrolled utility spending and a lack of government oversight.

Since California passed deregulation in 1998, utilities earn as profits a percentage of their spending on things like transmission lines. The more money they spend, the more money they make. In addition, the majority of utility transmission spending is “self-approved,” meaning their spending is not regulated for necessity or reviewed to make sure it is in the public’s interest. Since 1998,PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE’s spending increased 500% — long before solar had gained mainstream popularity. 

But utilities continue to blame high electricity prices on solar customers using the same “cost shift” script, even after recent changes to net metering that dropped the value of solar energy shared back to the grid by solar homes and businesses by 70-80% overnight. 

In just the past 10 years, PG&E’s electricity rates soared by 127%, SDG&E by 72%, and SCE by 91%. To offset high electricity costs, more and more Californians are choosing to go solar while helping to protect the planet and saving all energy consumers money — whether they have solar on their roof or not. Economists estimate that solar roofs save everyone $3 billion every year in avoided generation costs alone.

Utilities are threatened by rooftop solar because every solar home cuts into utility profits since it reduces the need to build a bigger grid.

“Utilities hate competition from solar, and, facing political pressure from elected officials over rising rates and soaring profits, they are looking to scapegoat rooftop solar. Californians see the utility lie for what it is, but the close relationship between utilities and regulators means the false narrative has caught on with the state’s energy decision-makers,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of CALSSA. “Today, California has two million solar roofs. Instead of slowing our solar growth we need to double it in the next six years and invest in other clean energy solutions in order to get utility spending under control and meet California’s climate goals.”

Higher solar and battery adoption, combined with continued investments in energy efficiency and conservation, could save ratepayers $120 billion by 2045. However, progress and cost savings can only happen if regulators start saying no to unnecessary utility spending and start saying yes to rooftop solar and batteries.